Pretty Dangerous (20 page)

“Yeah.” MiMi sniffed and dabbed her eyes with
the fancy paper napkin Adrienne handed her. “Not to mention the
police questioned me about Roddy’s murder.”

Adrienne pressed a hand to her chest. “Are
you kidding me? Daddy must have exploded when you told him. I’ll
bet he had a hot conference call with police chief. Those
detectives are probably still trying to screw their asses back
on.”

“Don’t mention anything I told you to Mother
or Daddy, Adrienne. You know how they are. Please.”

“But Daddy knows everyone important in south
Louisiana. And he could get one of the best lawyers in the country
to make them back off fast,” Adrienne said.

“Like you said, their help comes with a big
price tag. They’d want to control my life and tell me how to raise
Sage. No, promise you won’t tell them anything we talked about.”
MiMi shivered as she looked at her sister. Maybe she’d been foolish
to let her guard down.

Adrienne gazed back at her for a few seconds.
“If you say so. At least let me do something. I know people.”

“Willa helped me hire a really good attorney.
She and Jazz have been great.” MiMi saw the flash of disapproval
and even distaste on her sister’s face. “You should get to know
them, Adrienne. They’re wonderful friends, really.”

After a few seconds Adrienne smiled. “Of
course they are. Now how about we have a slice of lemon ice box pie
and coffee?”

MiMi let out a soft laugh. “If you took the
trouble to make it, I can’t refuse.”

“Oh, no. It’s from that nouveau soul food
place downtown. I’ll only go homemaker just so far, even to lift
little sister’s spirits.” Adrienne let out her signature musical
laugh.

Her sister continued to be witty and
attentive. MiMi’s troubles hadn’t gone away, but she felt close to
her sister for the first time in years.

****

MiMi met with her attorney on a sunny Friday
morning. Yet instead of a happy TGIF mood, everyone looked grim.
Willa and Cedric used their investigative resources to get facts on
Nairoby Villa and Roderick, so they met in the conference room at
Crown Protection. The lawyer wore an apologetic frown. He clearly
didn’t like being the bearer of bad news.

“So this woman, what’s her name...” Willa
glanced at MiMi.

“Nairoby Villa.”

“Yeah, she’s not part of a Dominican gang
after all. So maybe Jack didn’t launder dirty money.” Willa lifted
both hands palms up. “What am I missing? That’s a silver lining to
one big old cloud.”

“Nah, too early to tell. What we found out
could just touch the surface,” Cedric said. He glanced at
Edselle.

“Her partners left a message. I called their
international toll free number. One thing is obvious, Ms. Villa
isn’t a senior partner, if she’s a partner at all. They talk more
like she’s an employee. She may have exaggerated her importance to
intimidate you. Whatever she is, I got the feeling they’re not
pleased with her.” Edselle opened the button of his expensive suit
jacket.

“Hmm, so MiMi’s bluff turned out to be on
target,” Willa said.

“I smelled the anxiety beneath her slick
talk,” MiMi replied in a cool tone.

“Now you’re a player?” Willa pursed her
lips.

“Humph. Recognize.” MiMi waved a hand.

Cedric covered a laugh by pretending to
cough. He stopped when MiMi squinted at him. “Sorry. So Edselle,
what are MiMI’s legal options.”

“Okay, let’s examine the pros first. Mr.
Reyes, their spokesperson, says they’re a legitimate business
consortium. They have a large clothing manufacturing plant in the
DR, export jewelry, and craft items made in the DR and Haiti. They
also have other businesses, but they didn’t go into detail,”
Edselle said.

Willa nodded. “Okay, then it’s quite possible
that Ms. Villa was telling the truth. She and Jack could have had a
deal to sell clothing in the states.”

“Humph.” MiMi crossed her arms.

“Yes, and he was romancing the woman. Get
over it. I did when I was married to him,” Willa wisecracked. She
turned her attention back to the lawyer. “So you can make a case to
the FBI that any money Jack made with them was perfectly legal.
Which stops their whole seizure of assets process.”

“Or at least weakens their case enough to
make U.S. Attorney’s office drop it.” Edselle nodded.

“Which means the FBI backs off and MiMi keeps
the house,” Cedric added.

“And we can finally wrap up Jack’s
succession, praise the heavens.” Willa clapped her hands
together.

“Hold on, let’s look at the cons. This
consortium can present evidence that Ms. Villa didn’t have the
authority to enter into business agreements.” Edselle glanced at
each of them in turn.

“Which means any money she loaned Jack was
without their approval,” MiMi said and heaved a sigh.

“And they could make a claim to profits and
demand a settlement. They’ve hired a local attorney to explore
their options. I should hear from him any day now.” Edselle sat
back as if allowing them to digest his summary.

“One alternative is to settle with them to
avoid drawn out legal wrangling,” MiMi said. “I’ll have to sell the
house and empty my pitiful savings account.”

“Sixty thousand dollars isn’t that ‘pitiful’.
The house is worth maybe two hundred fifty thousand.” Willa looked
thoughtful.

“I could be out of a job soon. Then I’ll need
money to live on.”

“Her house is worth more. Real estate values
have gone up in that part of town. MiMi’s neighborhood is smack in
the middle of gentrification in Mid City,” Cedric said.

“So maybe she can negotiate with them and
keep her savings. Even better,” Willa replied.

“Wait a minute. Before we break out the
champagne, remember Sage will lose the only home she’s ever known.
And I happen to love my house.” MiMi’s voice broke. Then she
breathed in and out to steady herself. “Do we know for sure this
consortium’s businesses are all legal?”

Edselle rubbed his top lip and frowned before
speaking. “Hard to say, but I would guess there’s probably
something shady. Without contacts in the DR we’d have one hell of a
time tracking it down. Still they’re most likely bluffing. They
probably hope you’re more scared of the authorities than they are.
They’re out of the US and harder to reach. But not impossible.”

“We could hire a private detective.” MiMi
looked at Cedric and then Willa. “Track down exactly who they are
for leverage.”

“And prove they’re crooks, which means the
FBI swoops in again because we’ve done their jobs for them,” Willa
reminded her.

“What if I offered to cooperate? I might be
able to make a deal with them. I got the feeling they used taking
my house as pressure to make me talk.” MiMi sat straight, liking
her own logic the more she talked.

“I wouldn’t advise, not yet. The feds have a
high hurdle to jump. First they have to follow the money trail, and
that’s tough to do. Then they have to prove the source of the money
was illegal.” Edselle’s grave expression brightened as he laid out
his own train of thought.

“They could get desperate enough to come
after you if they feel threatened,” Cedric said.

“Besides, you don’t have a whole lot to offer
them. You don’t know anything about these folks,” Willa said to
MiMi.

“I could find out more. I’ll probably be
positioned to pluck out some useful information once we decide to
negotiate.” MiMi nodded.

Willa turned to Cedric “Is she talking about
some kind of undercover sting? I must not have heard that
right.”

“MiMi, playing a game when none of us knows
the rules is way too dangerous,” Cedric said.

“I don’t mean flying to the DR and pretending
to be their new best friend. Give me some credit. I meant open a
dialog maybe with Nairoby. She seems to actually like Jazz,
and...”

“No,” Willa cut in and waved a forefinger at
the end of MiMi’s nose. “You and Jazz will stir up twice the
trouble getting into some kind of crazy scheme.”

“Well I have to do something. I feel like I’m
being watched all the time. I can’t just sit at home with the axe
of doom swinging over my head. I’m not sure I can keep my house or
my job.” MiMi’s voice trembled. She stood up and paced.

“Calm down, we’re going to figure a way out.
Right?” Willa glanced at the two men for support.

“Have you seen a car parked on your street
that doesn’t belong to a neighbor, or seen the odd jogger lately? I
mean somebody you don’t know,” Cedric said.

“Or outside the building where you work?”
Edselle added.

“Or a car following yours when you go out?”
Cedric frowned and rubbed his jaw.

“Hey, you guys are supposed to be helping me
reassure MiMi,” Willa protested.

“The FBI, the Baton Rouge PD, and now these
Dominicans,” Edselle replied. His expression had gone back to
somber. “Look at the facts. MiMi was arrested, there are two
murders and the FBI are in the mix. I’d be surprised if she’s not
being followed.”

“How long have you had that feeling?” Cedric
asked.

“For at least a week. My street is quiet with
barely any traffic most days. But in the past week or so more cars
drive by my house. My neighbor Brenda even mentioned it to me. Then
I got a series of phone calls. Some were wrong numbers. I’d swear
it was the same person trying to sound different. Or it could be a
woman with a throaty voice.”

Willa sighed. “I think it’s nerves. Most
surveillance is electronic. Baton Rouge has street cameras
even.”

“Well, I feel a whole lot better now.
Thanks,” MiMi retorted. She rubbed the tight muscles in her neck.
The memory of Roderick massaging her slowly until her whole body
relaxed popped into her head. “Poor Roderick. Being a jerk isn’t
grounds for the death penalty.”

“At least one person obviously disagrees with
you,” Willa replied. “There was anger behind his murder.”

“Money can cause that kind of anger,
particularly large sums,” Edselle said.

“Greed and sex, are the most common
motivations for murder. Two sets of cops think I may have both.”
MiMi tried not to start bawling again.

“There is a bright side,” Willa said gently
and sat next to MiMi. “Edselle is of the expert opinion that you’re
in a good negotiating position with the Dominicans.”

“Well, we’ve got a lot more going for us than
it looks like on the surface. We could push back against their
claim.” Edselle looked at MiMi, a question in his dark eyes.

“My gut says they don’t want a quick and
quiet solution despite all the big talk, but it’s your decision,”
Cedric said.

MiMi had an image of packing Sage’s toys for
a move from their house. Anger replaced the pity party she had
slipped into moments before. “Do it.”

“Think carefully. Are you sure?” Edselle
said, becoming the cautious attorney. “There’s a chance they’ll
press forward with their claim. Cedric is right about them being an
unknown quantity.”

“Nairoby Villa doesn’t impress me as someone
who plays by rules. I’m willing to bet her business associates
don’t think our laws are a big deal either. Let’s push back. Hard.”
MiMi grimaced as though she could see her adversaries.

Edselle’s milk chocolate face eased into a
smile. “I agree, but I wanted you to consider all of the
possibilities. As for the FBI, they’ve played all the cards they
have for now. It could take months, longer, for them to bring a
case to confiscate your home. By then we’ll be ready for them.”

“That just leaves the investigation into
Roderick’s murder,” Willa said. She lifted both hands when they
looked at her. “Hey, somebody needed to say what we were all
thinking.”

“Yeah, we have to find Roderick’s killer.
Who’s with me?” MiMi stood up and put both hands on her hips. Dead
silence followed instead of a chorus of assent.

Willa stood and faced her. “Hell. No.”

“We need to make the police look at all of
the evidence. They’re stuck on me.” MiMi slapped her chest. She
looked at Cedric for support, but found disappointment instead.

Cedric crossed his arms. “Crown Protection
resources will stick to on-site security and civil matters. No
amateur homicide investigations.”

“We’ll give Edselle any background
information we can dig using electronic searches. But no private
eye stuff. We’re talking two murders and maybe a dangerous gang.”
Willa said with force.

MiMi blinked as if the last three words had
slapped her on the forehead. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Now you’re talking sense,” Willa replied.
The tension drained from her expression.

“We could track down who else had a motive,”
MiMi replied quickly. “I mean, dang, we’ve got a lot of
suspects.”

“She’s right,” Edselle cut in just as Willa
scowled and opened her mouth. “I’m not saying I expect them arrest
and charge MiMi, but it could happen. Her defense attorney will
need alternate theories of the crime. More suspects equal
reasonable doubt.”

“Hey, what do you mean my defense attorney?
You’re my lawyer.” MiMi blinked at him.

“I’m busy on two fronts with the FBI and the
Dominican business consortium. Besides, you’ll need an attorney
with extensive criminal trial experience. I specialize in civil
litigation and white collar crime.”

“Murder defense is a different game,” Willa
added.

“But don’t worry. I know at least five top
criminal defense lawyers.” Edselle smiled at her.

“Oh good,” MiMi said with much less
enthusiasm.

The next morning MiMi dropped Sage off at
daycare. She gave the cheerful toddler an equally bright goodbye.
MiMi drove away at least satisfied that so far Sage hadn’t been
affected. She’d managed to keep to Sage’s routine. Her paychecks
continued thanks to the high stock she still had with Darcas. She
didn’t have to dip into savings for the moment. But who knew how
long Darca could keep Kerry on a leash?